Sole treating apparatus



2 Sheets-Sheet 1 www. Wwwwmm www@ May 27,1947- w. c. CARD, JR

SOLE TREATING APPARATUS Filed March 7, 1945 May 27, 1947. f Vy, Q CARDI JR 2,421,053

SOLE TREATING APPARATUS ZASheets-Sheet 2 `File@ March 7., 1945 2 2 Fig, 4.

tion of the cover being broken away to show soles placed within the treating chamber;

Fig. 2 is a side elevation of the apparatus shown in Fig. 1, with parts broken away;

Fig. 3 is an end elevation of the apparatus of Figs. 1 and 2 showing a sole within the treating chamber and a shoe to which the sole is secured resting upon its support; and,

Fig. 4 is a sectional view taken substantially along lines 4-4 of Fig. 1, and showing a sole Ibeing ejected from the treating chamber.

Referring to the drawings, there is shown an improved form of apparatus for treating shoe soles with heated vapor which comprises a receptacle I adapted to hold a body II of liquid, e. g., water, which is supplied to the receptacle and preferably kept at a constant level therein by a barometric feed tank I2 via a trough I3 and a conduit I4. The tank I2 preferably is supported by upstanding posts I5 which may be screwthreaded into the walls of the trough I3.

Preferably, the body il of liquid within the receptacle Ill is heated by means of the electrical resistance heaters IB, which may be of a, known direct immersion type terminating in the form of screw plugs I'I threaded into an end wall of the receptacle to form liquid-tight seals.

Disposed above the body of liquid II is a sole support I8, which may rest upon lugs I9 and be secured by screws 20 to bosses 2l adjacent to the side walls of the receptacle Ill. The sole support I8 may be formed of wire mesh or other suitable material through which vapor rising from the body of heated liquid can pass.

A cover 22 having depending side walls is hinged at 23 to the receptacle Il!) and, in its closed position over the receptacle, cooperates with the latter to form a chamber 24 above the sole support I8. The cover 22 has a front depending wall 25`provided with a plurality of notches 2S forming with other structure a plurality of slots through which soles may be inserted to rest upon the sole support I8 while being subjected to the action of the vapor arising from the body of heated liquid.

As soles, which are generally at room temperature, are continually inserted into the chamber 24 for treatment, there is a tendency to cool the vapor therein. Also, the outer atmosphere tends to cool the cover 22 and, as is well known, heated vapor condenses when chilled below its dew point temperature. To prevent condensation of the vapor within the chamber 24, the cover 22 is provided with suitable heating means, such as an electrical resistance heaterV 27, for maintaining the temperature of the atmosphere within the chamber 24 higher than the dew point temperature of the vapor rising into the chamber. This heating means is especially designed for maintaining the temperature of the cover 22 above said dew point temperature, since it has been observed that condensation of the vapor most frequently occurs through the relatively cool cover chilling the vapor below its dew point resulting in liquid droplets falling as rain, which may 'fall upon the grain or uncemented side of the soles being treated and stain the same.

The cover 22 is sloped as shown, and at its portion of highest elevation remote from its depending front wall 25 is provided with vents 28. Thus, a draft chimney eiect is formed and atmosphere enters the slots 26 where the heat within the chamber causes it to rise and accelerate in motion until it passesI out of the vents 28 carrying with it an amount of unwanted vapor to keep 4 the concentration down below a certain maximum and to prevent a film of condensate forming upon the grain or uncemented side of relatively cool soles inserted for treatment which may result in blushing or slight discoloring of leather soles, especially those which have been grain bued.

A shoe supporting rail 29 is secured by nuts 30 to a bar 3| depending from the bottom of the receptacle I0, so that when treating a sole A which is attached at its heel end to the heel seat of a lasted shoe S, the sole is bent away from the shoe bottom as it is inserted into one of the slots 26 and rested upon the sole support I8 within the chamber 24, and the shoe is placed between the support rail 29 and the bar 3l. This fully supports the weight of the shoe and its last, ensuring that the sole inserted within the treating chamber will be activated entirely up to its heel breast line.

When treating a sole U which is not secured to a shoe, the sole is inserted into one of the slots 26 and is pushed with suiiicient force to ensure that it will come to rest upon the sole support I8 with its full length entirely within the chamber 24. y To facilitate removal of such a sole without danger of the operators hands being burned or scalded, ejectors are provided which, in the particular form shown, comprise a rod 32 which is slidably mounted in bores formed in opposite side walls of the cover member 22, and a pusher arm 33 is attached thereto by a set screw 34. The end of the rod 32 adjacent to the sole entering slot 25 is turned upwardly to provide a convenient handle 35 for reciprocating the rod and its pusher arm 33. The latter is thus moved substantially parallel to the sole support I8 to engage the end of the sole U and eject it from the chamber 24 far enough to allow it to be grasped and fully removed for attachment to a, shoe. To return the rod 32 and its pusher arm 33 to the rearward position, a helical spring 36 surrounding the rod abuts against the side wall 25 of the cover member 22 and its other end presses against a collar 3'! iixed on the rod.

After continued use, the receptacle I0 may become coated with mineral deposits or other impurities contained in the liquid and a drain cock 38 is provided so that the liquid can be drained out. The cover 22 can be opened, the Sole support removed and the receptacle cleaned.

In using the apparatus, it may be attached by bosses 39 to or near a sole pressing machine, e. g., as that shown in the patent to Weiss, No. 1,945,762, the heaters I6 and 21 being connected to a suitable electrical source. Preferably the heaters I5 are controlled by a suitable thermostatic control (not shown) to keep the body II of liquid in the receptacle ID at a temperature of from QCP- C. which has been found to be adequate to vaporize certain liquids, such as water. The soles may then be inserted through the slots 26 so that they rest upon the sole support I8 in a manner as previously described for the type of sole being treated. The outsoles may be treated by the heated vapor for a period of up to two minutes and as each sole is removed to be placed with its shoe in a shoe press machine for permanent attachment of the sole to the shoe bottom, another untreated sole may be inserted into the Vacant slot 26 to replace the one removed. Thus the operation of treating the soles may be carried out in an etdcient and continuous production manner.

Since certain changes may be made in the construction of the apparatus as above described and diierent embodiments of the invention could be made without departing from the scope thereof, it is intended that all matter contained in the above description shall be interpreted as illustrative and not in a limiting sense.

It is also to be understood that the following claims are intended to cover all of the generic and Specific features of the invention herein described, and all statements of the scope o-f the invention which, as a matter of language, might be said to fall therebetween.

Having described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. Apparatus for treating shoe soles with heated vapor, comprising a receptacle for containing a body of liquid, heating means for forming vapor from the liquid, a sole support mounted above the intended level of the surface of the body of liquid, means including a cover cooperating with said receptacle to form a chamber above said sole support, said cover being sloped upwardly to a portion at highest elevation and vented in the latter portion and the structure forming said chamber being provided with an air inlet passage, and means for heating said cover.

2. Apparatus for treating shoe soles with heated vapor, comprising a sole support, means including a cover above said sole support forming a chamber, means for passing heated vapor through said sole support, said rst means being so constructed as to permit soles to be inserted into said chamber to rest upon said sole support while receiving the action of vapor passing therethrough, means adjacent said cover for retarding condensation of vapor within said chamber, and means operable from the exterior of said chamber for ejecting soles from within said chamber.

3. Apparatus for treating shoe soles with heated vapor while they are secured at their heel ends to lasted shoes, comprising a sole support, means including a cover above said support forming a chamber, means for passing heated vapor through said support into said chamber, said first means being so constructed as to permit soles to be inserted into said chamber to rest upon said support While receiving the action of the vapor passing therethrough, and means for supporting exteriorly of the chamber the entire weight of the lasts and shoes to Which the soles being treated are secured.

4. Apparatus for treating shoe soles with heated vapor while they are secured at their heel ends to lasted shoes, comprising a sole support, means including a cover above said support forming a chamber, means for passing heated vapor through said support into said chamber, said first means being so constructed as to permit soles to be inserted into said chamber to rest upon said support while receiving the action of the vapor passing therethrough, means adjacent said cover for retarding condensation of vapor within said chamber, and means for supporting eXteriorly of the chamber the entire weight of the lasts and shoes to which the soles being treated are secured.

WILLIAM C. CARD, J R.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the le of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,247,312 Mullins Nov. 20, 1917 1,259,199 Ayres Mar. 12, 1918 2,191,416 Vachon Feb. 20, 1940 2,334,232 Wells Nov. 16, 1943 1,667,825 Ricks et al May 1, 1928 1,689,631 Jennings Oct. 30, 1928 2,226,769 Heather Dec. 31, 1940 

